MY HONEY BEE

"i'm sure that cooking has saved you on a lot of therapy bills too then. you'd be surprised the amount of people that come here to talk out their aggressions." maybe it wasn't that surprising, since there was a reason why it was a whole profession. he nodded at both of the answers, wondering if everett had perfected either recipe yet. "when are you going to make one or the other for me then? if it soothes you as you say and keeps you out of trouble, then cooking for me surely would be a good deed." he chuckled softly, somehow finding a way to make it seem like he was the altruistic one in that scenario. "both sound delicious though. i'm sure that they were the best cooks in the whole neighborhood." dai couldn't help but snicker at the man's observation. everett was bright and had a good read on people. he had to give him that much credit, at least. "i would. only because you don't get to where i am in life without being somewhat egotistical. plus, you wouldn't be able to deny it either." he winked at the younger man before turning around. he took off his jacket and hung it on the back of the door. "do you want to get out of here? i'm sure there are people we don't want to run into here and you were supposed to be my last patient of the day." which he was grateful for. even if it was a fake appointment, it saved him a lot of time.

"When you earn it." Everett answered promptly. No hesitation, no guile, simply fact because while Everett didn't mind making food and sharing it with people, he also wasn't a personal chef that existed at the whims of others and he wasn't that easily coaxed. Not that he minded the approach, because it was different from how most people interacted with him. "They were good teachers. They taught me the basics and they made it into something good instead of feeling like a stressful performance review." Which felt like the higher compliment to Everett, who enjoyed what they taught him enough that he was willing to step out of his comfort zone and learn more. Watching as the man turned away and hung up his jacket, Everett's head tilted to one side as a corner of his mouth quirked up into a smile. "Of course. I didn't visit because I missed the hospital ambiance." Sliding off the bed, Everett gave a cursory glance around the room before stepping closer to Dai. "Where did you have in mind?" There was little chance of running into his dad because his dad wouldn't be looking into him, but there was a slight chance of someone mentioning seeing him. Considering he was only visiting, that wasn't exactly a problem, and pissing his dad off by hanging around people he didn't like was a favorite past time, but Everett doubted anyone actually enjoyed spending their spare time in a hospital.

Humming at his response, Tristan just raised an eyebrow, now curious about what Everett might have up his sleeve. Soon he let out a laugh and shook his head. He never felt like he said the right thing. Half the time he felt like he didn't make sense. Thankfully, Everett understood what he was saying -- or trying to say. "You're probably the only person to say that to me." He admitted. Not that he cared what most people thought. The only time he did was... well, when he was talking to the man in front of him, and when he was being interviewed. During those times, he needed to make sure he didn't look like an idiot and sell what he was saying and being as confident as he could. "You do know that it would take me awhile to figure out if you took any of my clothes? Unless I see you wearing them." Though, it would be a fun game to play. Smirking, Tristan moved to wrap his arms around Everett's waist. "Isn't that better than trying to get you out of your clothes? Especially with it being our first meeting and all."

"Weird, didn't realize I was the only person paying attention. Their loss." He said casually, shrugging as he brushed off the words. For Everett, it didn't matter if other people saw it or not because he saw it, it was true for him and that was what mattered most. Anyone else was irrelevant, their opinions falling short compared to the importance of the simple, uncomplicated thing being built between himself and Tristan. "I know. Seeing how long it takes you to realize is part of the fun." Not so much fun if Tristan notices and never says anything about it, though - the man could be shockingly unflappable and laid back sometimes, or maybe he only seemed that way because Everett was used to reactions when he strayed from accepted parameters. Leaning fully into Tristan as the man wrapped his arms around his waist, Everett hummed in consideration, "It was certainly more unique. Your asshole score may vary, but you tend to be fairly reliable as a gentleman."

NICOLE WALLACE as Noah Morán in Culpa Nuestra (2025)

"Are you making it your mission to drive me crazy?" Tristan asked with a laugh. He wasn't sure what his thought process was behind it, but he would have to see what Everett had up his sleeve. Since their first meeting, he could tell that he was the determined type. "That's what I meant," Tristan said softly with a gentle smile forming on his lips. "I would go to the store and get whatever type of bananas you needed. All the bruised ones, or green ones so you can determine the ripeness you need them at to make your best banana bread." Plus, it was weird, but Tristan did enjoy going grocery shopping. In this short amount of time, Tristan knew that he would pretty much do whatever her could to make Everett happy. If that was just going to the store to get bananas? So be it. He might not openly admit it yet, but he was sure that Everett could pick that up... in a sense anyway. Humming as he answered his question, Tristan nodded, his eyes taking in how the hoodie fit on the other in front of him. "Good. Should I be expecting you to be stealing more of my clothes in the future?"

"My mission? Of course not. My hobby? Absolutely." He'd been strangely preoccupied with Tristan since they met, figuring out how he worked and ways to make him laugh, and Everett didn't see that changing any time soon even if the reaction he was after sometimes changed. "I can't tell you how stupidly appealing and endearing that is to me. You're very good at saying the right thing." Everett had a vague memory of being in the airport and telling Tristan about how important cooking was to him, how he liked people to be there with him even if they weren't doing anything. Enabling him to do that and making sure his time in the kitchen went well by running to the store for him? That was pure romance. "Possibly, but I'll give them back eventually. It's your job to figure out if I've taken something, though." Except now that he knew he could get away with it, there was a far greater chance that he'd bother actually asking Tristan first. They said it was better to ask forgiveness than permission, but there wasn't any risk in seeking permission when you already knew the answer would be yes. "You know, you really set yourself up for this since I recall you trying to get me in your clothes before."

"You haven't even begun driving me up the wall." Tristan informed Everett. So far, there wasn't anything that Everett could do that would drive Tristan insane. Sure, all of this was new, but so far? He couldn't find a single thing that would drive him crazy in a bad way. "If you want bruised bananas, I could just get you some. But if you want to sell my underwear, go ahead." It would be a strange thing to do, and not at all what he could see Everett doing. If anything, Tristan would find it more hilarious than anything else. "Me? Biased? Never," Tristan joked while his eyes scanned Everett's face as he shifted closer to him. There had always been some kind of magnetic feel Tristan had when around Everett. Now, it was more of a physical pull in this moment. "I'm assuming you find it comfortable as well?"

"Disappointing. I'll have to try harder." As much as it likely sounded like sarcasm, it was a sincere response. Not because Everett wanted to be difficult for the sake of it, but it felt like there was an implication that what he did was irrelevant and didn't faze Tristan. Logically, he knew that wasn't what Tristan was implying, but sometimes there was just an urge to push, to check where the line was, and he already knew he was going to find something stupid to do to get a reaction out of the man. "I'd much rather send you to a grocery store." Everett said, completely aware that wasn't actually what Tristan had volunteered to do. "I don't trust grocery store employees and delivery drivers to pick out and respect food items properly, so either I pick it up myself or send someone that I can critique." Which, again, was not what Tristan volunteered for, but Everett was only easy in one regard. Humming, Everett made a show off lifting his arms and examining the sleeves before tugging them over the heels of his hands and reaching out to place his palms on Tristan's chest. "Very comforting, I think." Not comfortable, even though that was true as well, but comforting.

sometimes, he did wonder what about him was so special that he was saved from everett's wrath. other times, he was too cocky to even question it. ironically, around the younger man he could still be more humble than around most people. even when he was talking himself up, there was a sense of teasing and taunting in his own tone. like he knew that he was being ridiculous sometimes. plus, he always gave the man his flowers. complimenting others didn't come easily to him unless they were everett, apparently. "lucky the rest of us that they didn't kick you out of the kitchen then. what was your favorite thing to watch them cook when you wandered in after them?" he genuinely wanted to know. again, he didn't know what it was about the younger man, but he wanted to understand all of his layers. "a reward or pick me up never hurt anyone. i tend to reward myself quite often because i deserve it so much." he chuckled softly, leaning back on his heels. "here i am, not feeling the judgment. people might think that i have you under some form of a spell or something. i'm going to have to start being careful around you."

"Turns out that you do get in less trouble if you work your aggression out on chopping vegetables," Everett agreed mildly, although he was pretty sure that it was supposed to be some compliment on his habit of feeding people like they were stray animals wandering around instead of capable, functional adults. Tilting his head at the unexpected question, Everett found that he had to think about it and even then, it was hard to pick a single answer. "Probably zucchini rolls, but the first thing I remember helping with is sweet rice balls and that scores at least second place for sentimental reasons." Maybe once he went back home, he could make some gyeongdan just to celebrate making it through another visit with his dad and not having a fight, that would be nice. The impulse was just further validation that he tended to reward himself with sweets and Everett huffed at Dai's self-aggrandizing and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Thank you so much for the validation." There were times during conversations where Everett had the feeling he was missing some kind of implication, like something translated for him differently than it did for most people, which was a trait that he'd mostly stopped being apologetic about. Instead of questioning it, Everett blinked and said, "I think you're the kind of person that even if I did judge you, you would find some way to turn it into a compliment to feed your ego."

"Just say the word and I can start doing just that," Tristan teased again with the playful smirk playing on his lips. He still kept a respectable amount of distance between them, despite his fingers still holding onto the fabric of the pocket that resided in the front of the hoodie. "I'm pretty sure that you have been the only one that I offered my clothes to. Unless I'm sleepwalking now and just handing out my clothes to random people on the street." Despite having a bunch of different clothes, there had always been his favorites that he would pick out and wear above his other ones. "It should be illegal with how much better it looks on you. Especially since it is my favorite one. But maybe that's why it looks good on you."

"I think I'd rather try to drive you up the wall more." Which was more fun than asking, in Everett's opinion, and something that he felt Tristan had been warned about. "You don't know, I could always exchange your underwear online for bruised bananas. I wouldn't even be the first person to do that, but when banana bread calls, you have to answer." Now what would Tristan do if Everett hid all his clothes? That may be an interesting thing to find out one day when there was the time for it. Just to keep Tristan on his toes, of course. "Have you considered that maybe you're biased?" Everett hummed, shifting closer to Tristan to get rid of some of the distance between them, something he swore it felt like he'd been doing since the first time they met.

"I mean I intentionally wasn't trying to butter you up, no, but if it is working than who am I to deny it?" The longer the lap dance was dragging on for, the more comfortable Alyssa became. But it wasn't because she was in a strip club. That whole scene was still very uncomfortable for her. It was the fact that staring at Arabella had this calming effect on her. It made Alyssa's tense muscles finally relax and her body to just mold to her seat. "And I surely wasn't planning on gypping you on your tip 'cause honestly... I was thinking of giving you an even bigger one after this experience." She smiled. Gentle and caring. "I would much prefer to see you after your shift though as a bonus. If you are into girls that is."

Sometimes people didn't need to be distracted, but there were other times when a distraction was exactly what people needed to soothe their nerves and the casual, flirty remark Alyssa made caused a smile to cross Arabella's face. Rule number one in her book, the real rule, was that if someone wasn't enjoying themselves, then she was doing something wrong. "I'm into… happy people." Arabella said, although chances were it was more accurate to say she was into people that made her feel happy. Still, either way she said it, Arabella knew that she was setting Alyssa up to make an easy joke. "What do you think? Are you a happy person?"

There was something in the wake of his smile as Torin placed his hand on the back of Everett’s neck to guide him out the door. For now, he put the remote back into his pocket. Torin was sure that after a while, he’d get used to the frequency and the rhythm that the toy was set at and thus would be caught off guard when Torin inevitably turned it up. Especially if he did it whilst the remote was still out of sight and in his pocket. “Ya’know.. it wouldn’t kill you to be a little nicer to me. I don’t really think I deserve to feel like I’m constantly fighting a war that I didn’t sign up for.” Heading to the car, Torin slided into the driver seat. Despite their constant back and forth, he decided to give Everett a break and turned the toy off. Now, if he started mouthing off again, Torin wouldn’t hesitate to up the ante. If he has to put Everett in his place, he would.

"Don't be a dick and I'll be nicer." That sounded far less childish than saying you started it, which was how Everett often felt. Logically, he knew that he should put distance between himself and Torin, but emotionally, he was attached. He wouldn't admit that out loud, but there was a reason he didn't tell Torin to fuck off, why he didn't find someone else to hook up with, why even though he ran his mouth, something about Torin's words caused a flash of guilt inside of him anyway. Everett didn't tend to feel things like regret or remorse if he wasn't attached, and life was much simpler that way, thanks. "I don't actually enjoy fighting, you know." His tone was flat, hiding a sensitive little nugget of truth as he slipped into the car and put on his seat belt. People always thought he liked it, but the truth was that it just seemed to happen, that he pushed trying to find something stable enough to hold onto, and he didn't know if the toy inside of him going quit meant a ceasefire or if it meant a surrender, the other party no longer interested in winning. That was the kind of question Everett wouldn't ponder if he wasn't attached.

"Good," Tristan mumbled against the side of Everett's face. While he would never admit such thing, this felt nice. He had fucked so many girls that he knew how much they liked it when he was gentle like this afterwards. It made him smirk wide like an idiot when Everett thanked him. God, he was so easy. Tristan loved that. "Tonight, you're going to sleep on the pillow you just came on." He whispered near his ear. "Gonna wake up all sticky and desperate and then you'll bring that pillow to my room, show me how hard you are." Tristan pulled back to cup Everett's face in his hands, pecking his lips. "You understand, Everett?" He ran a thumb along the other's lower lip, pulling his jaw down so he could lean in and spit his gum - the one that Everett gave him to numb the pain - into his mouth. "Be good." He said before starting to shift out of the bed, almost like he tucked Everett in, to head for his own room.

Chasing after the kiss as he shivered, it felt like his heart was in his throat and Everett didn't trust himself even to hum his acquiescence as he stopped his efforts to kiss Tristan, instead nodding. Sleep on the pillow, wake up, go to Tristan. Maybe even get a repeat? Warm from the thought and not resisting as Tristan pulled his mouth down, Everett stuck his tongue out on instinct and tried not to smile as gum ended up in his mouth again, the taste of strawberry spreading. "I'm always good," He called out as Tristan moved to leave him, halfway expecting the man to call him a liar for that. Everett wouldn't care, he was too pleased with himself in the moment, only waiting for Tristan to be out of the room so that he could give a silly little smile to his ceiling without anyone being any wiser about it.